Stories

Cliff Bar Recall – FYI – June 3, 2016

June 4, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Cliff Bar issued a voluntary recall on June 3rd, 2016 of three of their products due to concerns over listeria contamination from sunflower kernels supplied by SunOpta. This follows a number of other recalls from other companies that contained the companies sunflower kernels. Cliff Bar did not have any confirmed cases of people getting sick from eating their products. The following products with date ranges falling within a set period are outlined below.

Only the flavors meeting the following criteria are affected by the recall:

CLIF BAR® Nuts & Seeds energy bar all pack configurations with coded date ranges starting 08JUN16 through 21JAN17
CLIF BAR® Sierra Trail Mix energy bar all pack configurations with coded date ranges starting 05JUN16 through 24MAR17
CLIF® Mojo® Mountain Mix® trail mix bar all pack configurations with coded date ranges starting 16JUN16 through 02FEB17

More information can be found at: notice.clifbar.com

In The US – Happy Memorial Day!

May 30, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

In the United States, Happy Memorial Day from all of us at I Love Bicycling!

Memorial Day was originally established to honor the soldiers who died during the Civil War on both the Union and Confederate sides. Today it is a holiday dedicated to remember deceased veterans of all wars fought by American forces. Memorial Day also is the unofficial start to summer with picnics, parades, festivals, and other events. Many places have cycling events dedicated around the weekend that bring out racers and general enthusiasts alike. It’s also a weekend where family and friends dust off their bikes to ride around town and enjoy the day. We hope you are honoring our veterans and enjoying the day with family and friends. And start off summer right with a bike ride if you can. Happy Memorial Day!

Best Exercise Bike to Lose Weight

May 29, 2016 by Lee Agur

Honestly, the best exercise bike to lose weight is the one you will spend the most time in. Make sure you select the exercise bike that is the most comfortable. There are two styles of exercise bike: the upright seated position bike or the recumbent bike that has the reclined seat and you can settle back in to.

Upright Exercise Bike

The upright exercise bike more closely mimics the road bike and truthfully, if you are a cyclist, this is going to have you in a more beneficial position to build the required muscles.

Recumbent Exercise Bike

The recumbent exercise bike is more of a sit back comfort bike that has more back support. It is generally easier to spend longer durations on this style.

Best Exercise Bike to Lose Weight

Comfort is everything when you are looking to lose weight. It is easier to sit in a recumbent exercise bike and watch a movie or a TV show while pedaling sitting back comfortably. Intensities may not be as high on recumbent bikes but the average duration is 1.5 times longer, a fair trade off when you are looking to burn calories.

Convenience is another huge contributing factor to determining the best best exercise bikes for losing weight. Factors such as sticking the bike up in the attic or finding one that can fit in your TV room are important. Recumbent exercise bikes generally take up more room, do not sacrifice convenience for comfort unless you are a very disciplined individual.

So What is the Best Stationary Bike for Weight Loss?

Any exercise bike you select is going to burn a significant amount of calories, but if you are a stats person, make sure you select a bike with a display that tracks the amazing features that are going to drive you to work hard such as: a calorie counter, heart rate monitor, distance travelled, time spent spinning or difficulty of workout.

There are a plethora of exercise bikes designed to help you lose weight click here to view them: Best Exercise Bike to Lose Weight.

Ride a Bike To…

May 23, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

The bike brings a lot of different things for all of us but one thing it does bring is joy to our lives. It doesn’t matter how long you live (well a longer time to experience the joys of life can be better) but how well you live. Well in that you live each day the way you want doing the things you want to do and adding life to each and every day. The bike is a great way to do that so keep riding and live on.

Bike Lawn Mower

May 21, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Need to mow your lawn? Rather go on a bike ride? Well now you can do both. Find one halfway between your local bike shop and local lawn care store.

Bike Lane Joke

May 21, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

You’ve probably seen it; a car driving down the bike lane. Not cool. Some people will never learn but at least a funny joke out of it.

The Bike – It’s What You Make Of It

May 20, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Any bike is what you make of it. It can be so ring that gets you around town, a way to meet and enjoy time with friends, show you new places, allow you to race at great lengths. Whatever you want it to do it can do. It’s you that dictates what that outcome includes. Do you want to complete a century, enjoy a sunny day, race in the Tour de France. It’s you that decides, not the bicycle.

Vittoria Mezcal Graphene Mountain Bike Tire Review

May 19, 2016 by Ryan Taylor

Vittoria has been updating its mountain bike line with a number of new treads, sizes, and has started using rubber compounds with Graphine, which we have recently written about here. The previous brand name of Geax is gone and the mountain bike line overall looks very impressive with a lot of depth for a less known Italian/North American brand. We put the Vittoria Mezcal with Graphene through its paces and this is what we think.

Vittoria makes no secret of their use of Graphene. Currently they are the only tire brand using it in the bike industry.

Setup and initial Impressions of the Vittoria Mezcal

The Sidewalls on the Vittoria Mezcal were durable, and we didnt have any issue with cuts in these throughout the test. — *The Sidewalls on the Vittoria Mezcal were durable, and we didnt have any issue with cuts throughout testing.*

The Mezcals we received were the 29 x 2.2 TNT model or ‘Tubes no Tubes’ casing. It is basically a half-way between a true UST (Universal Standard Tubeless) tire and a normal tubed tire. I set these up as normal with a mix of Stans sealant and slime with no issue. They pump up easily and pop into place without hassle and the tire ran very straight, which is not common.

I ran the Vittoria Mezcal on Easton’s 27mm and 24mm inner wide rims which allowed me to lower the pressure compared to most XC rim combinations. Throughout the test, the weather was remarkable consistent, resulting in slightly moist, to powdery soil as the summer approaches British Columbia. This is the terrain the Mezcal was designed for but unfortunately we didn’t get any wet weather during testing.

Performance of the Vittoria Mezcal

There is no denying the grip of the new Graphene rubber Vittoria is now using. For a dedicated XC tire and tread, it has plenty of bite. I would say the Mezcal has noticeably more bite than a traditional XC tire. Would I say its a game changer? Not really. That being said, as previously mentioned we didn’t get a chance to ride it in wet conditions where I suspect the Graphine rubber shines. Also, I think this tire would be well suited as a 2.35.

*The Vittoria Mezcal offers a great tread pattern for fast, dry terrain.*

Durability?

Over the course of one month of solid riding, I found the durability of the tire to be far from ideal. Toward the end of the test I found the sidewalls starting to become thread bare and the rear tire to wear faster than expected. Maybe this is the price you pay for that extra bite mentioned earlier, but it confused me as one of the claims of Graphene is that it extends tire life.

The achilles heal of the Mezcal is its puncture protection. While riding this tire in a variety of terrain(rocky, smooth, XC race course, wilder enduro tracks on a variety of bikes) I found I punctured a lot more than with normal tires. Oddly enough I never cut a sidewall(which I find normally happens in these areas) but always on the top between the tread. I punctured so often I had to patch the tires simply to feel I got a legitimate test out of them. For this tire to shine, improvements need to be made here.

Final Thoughts

The Vittoria Mezcal shows a lot of promise. Graphine rubber is definitely an upgrade in grip and the tread pattern offered is fantastic for fast, fun, riding ideally on XC or marathon type courses. The Vittoria Mezcal sets up remarkable easy, and has a great feel to it on the bike.

Unfortunately I found the tire simply doesn’t have enough puncture protection. Toward the end of the test I simply didn’t trust it come race day. If these issues were resolved and the tire was offered in a 2.35 as well, then it would be a major competitor in the XC category

2/5 stars.

Pros:

Great tread
Sets up easily
Light
Graphine works!

Cons:

Punctures way too easily
Not offered in a 2.35(ish)

Ideal Rider:

Someone who rides light XC in a dry-moderate climate.

A Year From Now…

May 19, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Cycling is one of those things that once you start you will wonder why you didn’t start sooner. The good thing is that it’s never too late. Make plans today for finding a bike and getting into riding regularly. A good starting point is to stop in at your local bike shop. You will be able to look at the different styles of bikes and what interests you but more importantly, talk to someone who is super knowledgeful about riding. They can answer any questions you might have. Also, searching in our search box on ILoveBicycling.com will take you to an article with answers to what you’re searching for.

A Team That Sweats Together…

May 17, 2016 by Adam Farabaugh

Whether you’re a cycling team, a group of buddies, long time friends, or a group that just met, when you ride together you form a bond that makes for great camaraderie. Everyone is looking out for each other be it if someone gets a flat tire, runs out of food or water, or starts to lag behind. There are few other disciplines that bring people together like cycling does. Embrace it. The bonds you make will last a lifetime. You’re not only sharing in conversation but also the effort. Your struggle together over that long climb gives you a closer bond. Ride together, stay together. It sounds like something your parents would say but riding a bike is just as if you were still a kid isn’t it?